


succulents and healing stones

by endedupinflames



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: F/F, Florist AU, Fluff, agathga is aro/ace but i also wrote this so what's the truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 16:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13012077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endedupinflames/pseuds/endedupinflames
Summary: Agatha finds a small flower shop on the corner of the street, and starts going there often, not just for the flowers, but also for the florist, who is incredibly cute.





	succulents and healing stones

**Author's Note:**

> Please, keep in mind English is not my first language and I currently don’t have a beta, and I am trying to improve by writing and sharing this.  
> Advice is more than welcomed!

I entered a small flower shop at the corner of a street, still completely lost in my thoughts. School has been though lately and I felt like it was all getting over my head.

„Hi, “ I heard a soft voice from the back section of the shop.

„Oh, hello, “ I replied quickly, embarrassed, because the unexpected greeting shocked me, and I jumped up a bit. I could feel my cheeks turning bright pink.

„Give me a minute, I’ll just need to finish this here and I’ll get to you. “ the girl said and I couldn’t help but smile a bit. She sounded like she really, genuinely wanted to help me – which felt so nice after days and days of being only cared about because of the way I look.

I looked around and tried to figure out what I would even want to get.

„Oh, I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you. I hope it’s okay. “ I jumped out a bit again and knew I was blushing. A lot. I turned around and saw the florist – a short girl with bright purple hair, big red glasses and bright smile.

„It’s alright, “ I smiled at her. She gave me another big smile.

„Can I help you with something? “

„Well I need something for my flat, to make it a bit happier… I was thinking some plants but fresh cut flowers to make it more colorful too? “ I answered and tried to return a smile, but it felt really awkward, like it was nothing compared to hers. „But I’m afraid I’ll kill the plants way too quick” I added. She laughed and her bubbly laugh filled the shop.

“I think we could look for the flowers first and then the flowers?” she asked and I nodded.

She turned around and looked on the shelves. After a moment she started putting pots on the counter. “What about these?” she pointed at the pots. I looked at them and smiled a bit again. God, she was making me smile a lot.

“These are really adorable,” I said “Do they need a lot of water care though? I really don’t want to kill these.”

She giggled: ”They really don’t, you only need to water them once every few days, they’re not hard to keep alive and healthy.”

“That’s great, I think I’ll take these three.” I replied and pointed at the ones I liked the most. I noticed I was smiling again and oh god, my cheeks must’ve been so red.

“Alright, great! I’m glad you like them,” She smiled again. I would swear the smiles were brighter than the sun itself. “Now, let’s take a look at the flowers, what would you like?”

“I’m not really sure,” I mumbled, “I was thinking some happy light colours? My apartment is so grey right now.”

She looked around for a bit, and then she pointed at some purple flowers I didn’t know. “What about these?” she asked.

“They’d match your hair,” I giggled, but instantly got anxious. What if she’ll think it was really stupid? Thankfully, she laughed with me.

“You’re right!”

“It’d look do pretty combined with you- I mean your hair, but I think I’ll pass. They’re a bit too dark for me.”

My cheeks were so red. I mean- she was really pretty, with her bright smile and glowing eyes, and if she took a photo with the flowers, it’d look great, but I felt really awkward for saying that.

“Thank you,” she laughed and my face got even redder and hotter, even though I thought it wasn’t even possible, “but I think we should find different flowers for you.”

I left the small flower shop half an hour later, with the three succulents, light pink roses and the biggest smile I had in a while on my face.

*

I started going to the flower shop as soon as the flowers I bought started fading (and sometimes even earlier) and spent hours there, chatting with the florist, Penny. And even though we never hung out outside the shop, I always just stayed there and talked with her when there were no costumers, and occasionally brought coffee for both of us, she was my best friend. For the first time in a while I had somebody who didn’t like me just for my face, body or my family’s money. Penny seemed to genuinely care and like spending time together.

And I noticed I like her, that I like her a lot. In a way I never liked any boy before. I liked the way her eyes smiled too when she was smiling, and the way she swung her hips when she walked, and how she’d always make me smile stupidly, and how I felt safe and important when I was with her. And how much she knew about the flowers, how smart she was in general. And I absolutely loved, how she always brightened up my day, how kind, caring and understanding she was, how she always squeezed me in a hug when I had a bad day and always knew what to say.

We always had something to talk about and anytime she was near me, the warm feeling inside my stomach grew and my heart would beat faster. The moments in the flower shop became the highlights of my days.

I was considering asking her to hang out, or just asking for her number, for gods sake, but I always got too shy to actually do it. There was no way I could tell her about my feelings anytime soon.

I was so happy spending time with her, but I always wished we’d get more time, like in cafés or even my flat, somewhere calmer without Penny having to stop the conversations to help the costumers out.

*

One day when I entered the shop, as soon as I saw Penny, I knew something was off. Her eyes were poofy, like she cried for a long time and she seemed like she couldn’t concentrate at all.

“Hi,” I said softly, “are you okay?”

She shook her head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly.

“Not right now,” she almost whispered and looked at her shoes, “it’s really stupid.”

“Oh, alright, “ I said, “but I’m here if you need anything, alright?” I gave her a tiny smile and pulled her into a hug. We stayed like that for quite some time – until a bell rang and a group of a middle aged woman entered the shop.

I’d swear Penny’s cheeks got a bit darker when she pulled away. It made my heart beat a bit faster, thinking I made her blush.

“Oh boy, this is going to take so long.” She whispered, then turned around and put on a forced professional smile, not indifferent from the smiles of wax mannequins, and went to help the ladies.

When I realized how much free time I had, an idea started growing in my head. I thought about it for a bit and then took a notebook out of my bag, ripped out a paper and quickly scribbled a note. My handwriting was different from the usual small letters; my heart was jumping up and down in my ribcage like it wanted to break free and all of the letters blended together in one messy line, just like my thoughts.

“I don’t know if you believe in there, but here’s a rosequartz, it is supposed to have some kind of positive aura and make you feel a bit better… And if you don’t believe in these, it’s still pretty, so have some nice aesthetic in your life.”

The last sentence was ironic, she literally worked a job where she was supposed to make things look aesthetically pleasing, but it was too late, crossing it over would make the note look even worse than it already looked.

I took a deep breath and added one more sentence. The letters were even messier than before.

“Also… would you like to go and grab some tea after you finish – we could talk and make you feel a bit better?

-Agatha”

My heart was pounding so much, when I was placing the note on the side of counter where only Penny could find it and putting a rosequartz crystal on top of it.

Penny was still fully distracted by the ladies, who were discussing what flowers they should get for whatever their occasion was really loudly. She didn’t notice anything, but I was terrified of the moment she’ll find it. What if she won’t like it? Think it’s stupid? What if her problem is too big to be helped by a talk with a cup of tea and a stone?

The ladies seemed to not plan on leaving anytime soon, so I decided to go outside for a moment and grab coffee for me and Penny. If I’ll be lucky, I won’t have to live through the awkward moment when she finds this. (And I’ll have a good excuse for my red cheeks)

I grabbed my scarf and coat, and quickly tapped Penny’s shoulder, hoping the ladies won’t get mad at us for it. “I’ll go get a coffee; I’ll be back in a moment.” I smiled. She nodded and went back to discussing the meaning of colours of roses.

*

When I got back, the ladies were gone and Penny was standing behind the counter, staring at something in her hands, grinning widely.

“Ag, thanks so much!” she almost squeaked and went in for a hug.”

“Careful, I have cups of coffee in my hands,” I laughed, but tried to hug her as well as I could without spilling the coffee.

“You’re great, it’s beautiful, thanks so much.” She said with the bright smile I liked so much, and she seemed really honestly happy. My heart skipped a beat because of it.

“You’re welcome!” I smiled back. I still felt very awkward and my heart was beating that much that it would probably jump out of my chest if it was not held in by my ribcage, because I still didn’t get an answer to the second part of the note.

I gave her the latté I bought for her and noticed my hands were shaking a bit.

“Thanks again,” she smiled at me once more, “You’re the best.” I could not believe these bright smiles were reserved just for me.

I only smiled back, because I felt like my heart would escape through my mouth if I tried to say anything. She took a long sip and it was quiet between us for some time. It was only few seconds, but it felt like ages to me.

“Oh, also, I’m closing this place in a few minutes,” she started and my stomach flipped, “would you still like to go somewhere? Because I would.” She seemed all bubbly and excited, that it was hard to believe how down she was less than a hour ago.

I blushed, oh, I blushed a lot. “I do.”

“So let’s go!” she grinned and grabbed her coat. “I know a nice tea place just a few blocks away.”

Few minutes later, we were sitting in a small tearoom, with our cheeks and noses all red from the cold outside.

“So, are you feeling better now? Do you want to tell me about what happened? Or do we just talk about random stuff as always, and try to make your day a bit brighter?” I asked and felt how my cheeks got warmer. Luckily, for now, it wasn’t noticeable that I am blushing.

Penny put her head on my shoulder and mumbled: “I just- I just want to tell you and get it out, but it’s kinda stupid, I don’t want you to laugh at me.”

“I won’t laugh, Pen, and you know it.”I told her, trying to keep my breath as steady as possible so that she won’t stay like this for a bit longer.

“It’s just- my friend’s boyfriend was joking about how I decided to take a gap year after that shit that happened last year, and he was just sort of making jokes about my job… And it hurt. You know, it’s not the best and most difficult to do, but I really love it.” She stopped for a moment and hid her face in my shoulder. “And I know he did not mean it in any bad way, probably, but it just did hurt…” her voice was low and shaky.

I was not sure how to help her, so I squeezed in a hug, ignoring my loud, loud heart and whispered: “He’s not right. You put a lot into your job, you know so much about what you’re doing and dealing with the costumers isn’t always easy. It is definitely not worse or dumber than uni.”

“Thanks Aggie,” she mumbled and pressed us even closer to each other, “I don’t know what I would do without you.” At this point, my heart was going crazy.

Not really thinking about it, I kissed her on the top of her head, like my mum used to do when I was little. As soon as I realized what I’ve done, that it was not just another one of my silly daydreams, that this was real, I started apologizing, and my face got redder than all the Christmas decorations I have seen on the way here. “I- I’m so sorry, I just-“ I was stuttering, and I was sure everybody less than mile away from me could hear my loud, loud heart.

“No,” said Penny softly and locked our lips together. She kissed me. My whole insides were exploding with joy. I run my hand through her hair and smile into the kiss. Every bad thing disappeared for a moment and there was only me and her. My mind was completely blank, blinded by the pure happiness.

She pulled away and grabbed my hand. Her eyes were shining, her cheeks were few shades darker and she had the widest smile I have ever seen on her face. And I was sure I looked just like her, my cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much, and my whole face was hot.

“So… can we call this a date now?” I asked when I caught my breath, staring at our fingers laced together.

“Only if you want to.” She said. Her voice was soft, but you could hear she was smiling in it.

“I do.” I smiled even more and leaned in to kiss her again.


End file.
